Philip Rivers has done a lot of good things for the Chargers. He pointed out some of the positives on Tuesday, after a reporter asked him to evaluate where his career stands.

"As far as whatever the numbers say over the last few years, and I say this humbly and respectfully, I played in 110 straight games or more, and have thrown a bunch of touchdowns, and over a seven-year period the ratio of touchdowns and interceptions is pretty dang good," he said.

"So, I don’t feel like, ‘Oh, man, I’m in a struggling mode,’ or ‘Gosh, if I don’t play (well) this year, I’m out of football.’ "

Trace the team's win-loss records, Rivers said, and you'll get to the heart of the story. The Chargers last reached the playoffs in 2009.

"I think this league’s about winning, more than anything," he said. "And the bottom line is we’ve been a .500 team for three years. We’ve been out of the playoffs for three years. I look at it that way more than anything. I’m the leader of this group."

He added: "I want to play well because I want us to win. Our goal is to win the AFC West. Obviously everybody’s goal is to win a championship – but that’s the championship we want to win and focus on."

For sure, Rivers, 31, has been "pretty dang good" since succeeding Drew Brees in 2006. I like that he pointed out how many consecutive game he's played. That streak, which speaks to performance, toughness, preparation and also luck, isn't always well-appreciated outside of a locker room.

But some of his turnovers have been pretty dang bad, and he knows that's part of being asked about his career's intersection with 2013.

"I think it’s human nature to ask those questions at this juncture," he said. "It doesn’t bother me one bit. Because I think in a lot of ways it can be justified. You have a new coaching staff. We’ve gone 24-24. Who gets questions asked? It’s the quarterback. I can handle that. I’m responsible for the lack of plays I’ve made and the plays I have made.

"I’m excited. I’m excited about what we can do and where we can go. We finished on a high note last year, other than the Carolina game. We’re excited about what we can be."

Our Kevin Acee will be writing soon about Rivers. I'm sure it will be another interesting column.